Newsworthy #3
Due Nov. 17, 2010
“Examining polygamy in Canada”
By Allan Dowd, Reuters
http://www.torontosun.com/life/2010/11/29/16358921.html
November 29, 2010
Polygamy is one of the few things in religion that truly fascinates me. I have been interested in learning more about this practice since I was young. Polygamy is alluring because it is a group of people in our own country that are so very different than us. I wouldn’t say they are so different than us, but culturally, polygamy is still not accepted really at all. In my lifetime, gay marriage has become widely known and quite accepted, especially among younger and more liberal thinkers- the people I am around daily. But a man being married to multiple women has really not even been discussed in our culture, other than to say it is illegal and wrong. This group of people has been forced to be secretive; therefore I am fascinated by their lives. A recent article on TorontoSun.com details how Canada is investigating the practice and has ideas about changing the law against it.
The Toronto Sun is published daily in Toronto, Ontario. “News stories in the tabloid style tend to be much shorter than those in other newspapers, and the language Sun journalists use tends to be simpler and more conversational than language used in other newspapers.” Its slogan is "Toronto's Other Voice" and according to wikipedia, editorally it is rather conservative. Reuters is a United Kingdom-based news service that employs reporters around the world to gather news to be picked up by many news publications, like what the Toronto Sun did with this story. According to Wikipedia, “Reuters has a strict policy towards upholding journalistic objectivity.” Reuters is read around the world and is very careful to remain un-biased and inoffensive to all people. The information from this company is very trustworthy.
I think the subject of polygamy is very important to the study of women and religion, or maybe gender and religion. As our country moves forward, we seem to become more accepting of different things. The civil rights movement, the women’s movement and the new laws that allow gay marriage all come to mind. Polygamy is currently outlawed in both the US and Canada, but I am sure some of the same arguments for gay marriage could be used to change the laws to allow polygamy. Those against polygamy cite that it can be used to take control of women and encourage the marriages of young girls to men.
This is a newsworthy item because it is new and different. If a nation is discussing changing a law, people are going to be interested. It’s especially interesting because Canada is so close to the US, and their culture is very similar to ours too, so their decisions definitely can affect us. The overturning of this law may set a precedent for other countries, including ours. I believe that humans are hard-wired to be curious about others’ lives, and that’s why reality television is so popular. Watching how other people live is fascinating, especially when they are people in your own country that live so differently than you do— but still deal with problems similar to yours. Polygamy is newsworthy because it causes people to be curious and draws them into the story or television show.
The article details how a court in Vancouver has decided to do a two-month investigation into polygamy. Members from the US and Canada who practice polygamy are testifying anonymously so that they will not worry about legal consequences and be able to speak freely. The article goes on to detail the history of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The group broke off from the Mormon faith after the decision in the 1890s to stop practicing polygamy. The article says that the US government put pressure on the Mormon church to get rid of polygamy. The author writes that polygamy has been in the news more recently due to the popular television shows such as Big Love and Sister Wives.
The author does a good job of breaking down exactly what people of this faith believe, in easy to understand terms. “FLDS members believe that a man must have multiple wives to follow the will of God and advance in the afterlife, and “celestial marriages” help protect women and children from social ills and poverty in old age, the court has been told. In practice, fundamentalist men have only one legal wife with other wives recognized in that role only by their faith. Law enforcement officials contend that is still illegal.” He also goes on to explain why the law is up for investigation.“But a Canadian judge has begun a special judicial inquiry to examine whether a Canadian anti-polygamy law violates protections of religious freedom or is still needed to protect women’s rights and deal with a variety of social problems.”
Church members argue that the law against polygamy keeps them from practicing their religion, which is supposed to be a guaranteed right. Prosecutors who want the law to stay in place say that obeying laws intended to prevent other social harms are more important than religious freedom. Opponents of polygamy say the practice allows women to be controlled and encourages or forces underage girls to marry older men. The article ends in saying that the law against polygamy has not been consistently enforced in Canada, and that they began to take it more seriously when women’s rights groups accused the government of ignoring the rule.
I think the investigation is sort of a break-through in the study of women and religion. Throughout the course we have struggled with how old traditions and laws don’t work anymore in our time, and how they can oppress people. By reviewing an old law- the Canadian government is being very progressive. Can they prove that polygamy is wrong or harmful? We shall see.
